Title
Urban Harvest Program
Description
ILRI is a member of Urban Harvest, a CGIAR initiative to use the collective knowledge and technologies of the CGIAR Centers to strengthen urban and peri-urban agriculture (PUA) practiced by the poor.
CGIAR center
ILRI
Category
Initiatives and Networks
Keywords
urban
peri-urban
human health
nutrition
diet
malnutrition
undernutrition
contaminant
food system
Contact
Tom Randolph
E-mail
t.randolph@cgiar.org
Title
System-wide Initiative on Malaria in Agriculture (SIMA)
Description
ILRI contributed to the former CGIAR-wide initiative addressing malaria in agricultural communities. The System-wide Initiative on Malaria in Agriculture (SIMA) focused on the combined skills and abilities of the agricultural and health research communities, government agencies and community-based organizations. Water- and land-use and crop- and livestock-production practices were studied across a range of agro-ecosystems in Africa to identify farming activities that encourage and discourage the breeding of the mosquito vector or alter the transmission of the disease. Research-based guidelines and tools were developed and tested for use by poor communities and the non-governmental organizations and governments that serve them. ILRI maintains some research reports on the linkages between livestock and malaria.
CGIAR center
ILRI
Category
Initiatives and Networks
Keywords
malaria
water
livestock
vector control
Contact
Tom Randolph
E-mail
t.randolph@cgiar.org
Title
Vaccines, Diagnostics and Disease Resistance
Description
ILRI research on livestock vaccines has direct and indirect links to medical vaccine and diagnostic research. One aspect of this work involves host functional genomics as it relates to livestock diseases that can be transmitted to humans.
A project investigating resistance to trypanosomosis in cattle is shedding light on some of the basic questions of disease resistance, which may have implications for human medical treatment. ILRI researchers first identified several regions of the cattle genome in which genes contributing to resistance or susceptibility must lie. They then identified genes within a part of the bovine genome that affects anemia, a characteristic of the disease. Remarkably, significant differences between cattle breeds that are susceptible and resistant to the disease were found in one of the candidate genes. Such a result makes it possible that the gene in question is responsible for the difference in susceptibility to anemia in the two breeds. This is now being further investigated. More recent results of this trypanosomosis genomics research appear to have implications for medical research on cholesterol.
CGIAR center
ILRI
Category
Research Programs
Keywords
livestock
vaccines
disease resistance
trypanosomosis
cattle
Contact
Steve Kemp
E-mail
s.kemp@cgiar.org
Title
Livestock, Water Quality, and Human Health
Description
ILRI has recently initiated limited research on water-mediated impacts on human health and on INRM approaches to reducing health risks. Most of this research falls within ILRI's collaboration with the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food and the CGIAR Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management and Agriculture. Key issues include the transmission of water-borne pathogens such as coliform bacteria, cryptosporidium, and Fasciola that result from animal manure contaminating domestic water supplies and where simple remedial interventions are feasible
Wastewater is increasingly used for irrigation of fodder crops that fuel the growing urban and peri-urban dairy production in mega cities such as Hyderabad (India) and Faisalabad (Pakistan). ILRI in collaboration with IWMI and Indian and Pakistani public health institutions and municipal water authority is investigating the relationships among water, soil, and produce quality (fodder and milk) to assess the chain of possible contaminations (heavy metals, nitrate, parasites) and ultimately the hazards to producers (farmers, dairy producers) and consumers of livestock products in these urban areas.
CGIAR center
ILRI
Category
Research Program
Keywords
human health
contamination
milk
fodder
water
irrigation
urban
peri-urban
Contact
Tom Randolph
E-mail
t.randolph@cgiar.org
Title
Animal Source Foods and Nutrition During Early Life: An evaluation of the possible link between livestock keeping, food intake and nutritional status of young children in resource poor
Description
A research collaboration between ILRI and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) was recently undertaken to understand the role animal source foods, such as eggs, milk, meat, liver, etc., play in the nutritional status of young children in the central highlands of Ethiopia. Variation in nutrition status between children in households keeping or not keeping smallstock (poultry, sheep, goats) was examined. This research is leading to intervention studies that focus on improving nutrition, educating families about proper complementary feeding, and altering potentially dangerous livestock keeping practices.
CGIAR center
ILRI
Category
Research Program
Keywords
nutrition
livestock
child health
livestock keeping practices
Countries
Ethiopia
Contact
Tom Randolph
E-mail
t.randolph@cgiar.org
Title
Food Safety Associated with Livestock and Livestock Products
Description
This research program has focused on identifying the public health risks associated with the marketing of unpasteurized milk, with an emphasis on developing policies and technologies for improved quality and safety without jeopardizing market access for the poor. An outcome of this work has been changes in government policies towards more acceptance of raw milk marketing in several East African countries, based on the identified low risks and high dependence of resource poor people on these markets. This work is being expanded, in cooperation with IFPRI, to examine the marketing of other livestock and livestock products, particularly in South Asia. Studies provide policy-relevant analyses of the risks and economic benefits to poor farmers, market agents, and resource-poor consumers.
Demand for better quality and safe food is increasing among urban consumers, especially among affluent ones. This poses threats to the market opportunities of smallholder producers who often are unable to access technology, inputs and services to produce high quality products demanded by the market chains serving high-end consumers. ILRI research is trying to understand the nature of quality and safety attributes demanded by consumers, their willingness to pay for such attributes and how smallholders may respond to these through participation in market chains.
ILRI is seeking to adapt risk-based approaches to food safety to the informal markets where most poor people buy and sell; ongoing activities include training and capacity building; method development (including risk profiling and participatory risk assessment); and proof of concept studies evaluating the practical application of risk assessment to developing country food safety problems.
CGIAR center
ILRI
Category
Research Program
Keywords
food safety
livestock
unpasteurized milk
raw milk
market chains
Countries
South Asia
East Africa
Contact
Tom Randolph
E-mail
t.randolph@cgiar.org
Title
Zoonotic Diseases
Description
Poor people in developing countries have a high risk of exposure to zoonotic diseases transmitted from animals to people. ILRI is helping to bridge the artificial divide between animal and human health. With over 75% of human infections having a zoonotic origin, the need to examine the epidemiological relationships between pathogens and their animal and human hosts is paramount. A joint programme has been established between ILRI and the Swiss Tropical Institute to specifically focus on major neglected zoonoses including Cysticercosis, a highly complex disease affecting both people and pigs, and Rift Valley Fever. ILRI is participating in a Cysticercosis Working Group of Eastern and Southern Africa (CWGESA), which promotes effective communication, collaboration and coordination of integrated research and control activities aimed at combating cysticercosis. CWGESA and ILRI developed a Cysticercosis Prevention Poster which is currently available in English, Xhosa and Afrikaans. This poster is being used for a rapid information campaign in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa where a neurocysticercosis outbreak among children has been reported. ILRI has been evaluating the impact of the recent Rift Valley Fever outbreaks in East Africa and translating these lessons, in collaboration with FAO, into a decision-support system for more rapid and effective response. Zoonotic dimensions of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza are also being considered within major assessments underway to understand risk and impacts associated with its introduction and spread.
CGIAR center
ILRI
Category
Research Program
Keywords
zoonotic
zoonosis
infectious disease
pathogen
cysticercosis
rift valley fever
avian influenza
Countries
Southern Africa
Eastern Africa
South Africa
Contact
Tom Randolph
E-mail
t.randolph@cgiar.org
Title
Impact of Livestock Production on Human Health and Nutrition
Description
ILRI is working to improve understanding of the links between livestock keeping and the health and nutrition of poor people, particularly those engaging in smallholder livestock production and marketing. Activities recently undertaken include field studies, literature reviews and explorations of the ways in which livestock keeping might benefit the care of people with HIV/AIDS.
CGIAR center
ILRI
Category
Research Program
Keywords
livestock
health
nutrition
marketing
HIV/AIDS
Contact
Tom Randolph
E-mail
t.randolph@cgiar.org
Title
Livestock Keeping and Human Health
Description
As part of its Improving Market Opportunities Theme, ILRI conducts research to protect and enhance the physical human capital of the poor by developing strategies to reduce health risks and improve nutritional benefits associated with livestock keeping. Other health dimensions are being addressed within the People, Livestock, and the Environment Theme and the Biotechnology Theme.
CGIAR center
ILRI
Category
Research Program
Keywords
livestock
human capital
health
markets
nutrition
Contact
Tom Randolph
E-mail
t.randolph@cgiar.org